Zain Kassam MD, MPH

Dr. Zain Kassam is a Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Finch Therapeutics. He is a serial entrepreneur, senior biotechnology executive, and physician-scientist dedicated to building transformative companies that impact patients. He is the Co-Founder and former Chief Medical Officer at Finch Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FNCH), a clinical-stage company focused on developing novel microbiome therapeutics. He has experience leading Phase I-III trials across multiple therapeutic areas and building clinical development, clinical operations, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, and translational medicine departments. Key contributor raising >$300M in the capital including upsized IPO, as well as driving strategic pharmaceutical partnerships and academic collaborations. Previously, Dr. Kassam was Chief Medical Officer at OpenBiome, where as part of the founding team, he pioneered the application of the microbiome to treat disease.

Dr. Kassam received the 2020 Public Health Innovator Award from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was named to the prestigious Top 40 under 40 Healthcare Innovator List by MedTech. Dr. Kassam has served as a Scientific Advisory Board member for the American Gastroenterological Association Center for Gut Microbiome Research & Education, and as a Clinical Research Affiliate at the MIT Center for Microbiome Informatics & Therapeutics. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts including in leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and Gastroenterology. He has also co-authored the first practical handbook for clinicians on microbiome therapeutics (Slack, Inc). Dr. Kassam is an inventor of over 15 patent applications or patents. He has held funding from the CDC, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, and numerous private foundations. Dr. Kassam has been featured on PBS, CNN, BBC, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and numerous other media outlets. He was the previous Co-Chair of the CMO Summit 360 Summit (2019-2021) which brings together 70+ CMOs from around the globe.

Dr. Kassam received his MPH degree from Harvard University with a focus on Clinical Trials on a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship and completed his post-doctoral training in biological engineering at MIT. He was awarded his MD from Western University in London, Canada, where he recently received the Young Alumni Award. Dr. Kassam completed his Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at McMaster University, where he was both the Chief Medical and Chief Gastroenterology Resident.